cold as you ||t. riddle||

𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒘𝒐

"Can you all please shut up?" She said burying her head in her pillow.

"Anna won't give me back my tie!" said Lucy Greengrass. Elena didn't know much about her other than the fact that she had a big crush on Abraxas. She had tried to approach Elena once in the hopes of getting closer with him, but that had backfired when Annabelle Black learned of their building friendship.

"Come get it, what's stopping you?" Anna was shaking her tie in her hand, teasing Lucy.

"Come on, Black. Give it back." Elena said exhaustedly. She wanted to get the most amount of sleep she could before classes started.

"Oh shut up Mortem. You're insufferable." Anna rolled her eyes tossing the tie to Lucy. "I saw you with Riddle last night. What are you trying to do?"

That was another thing. Anna thought Tom would eventually be hers, that was the cause of her hatred towards Elena. She sighed, giving up all hope of sleeping. "I am not trying to do anything. You can have him all to yourself." She stood up and looked around the room. Orion had left already and June Clearwater was getting ready silently in her corner. "If he knows of your existence, that is."

With that she left for the Great Hall, where she was sure she could find Orion. She kept her pace quick to avoid any chance of running into Tom and made it to the Slytherin table. She reached for some food, looking around for Orion, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, Elena!" she heard from behind her and closed her eyes in annoyance.

"Good morning, Potter. What brings you here?" she said. Charlus Potter, Gryffindor seeker. Everyone knew he had a crush on Elena since their third year. It did have it perks, however most of the time it was just annoying to keep him around.

"You don't have to call me by my surname- whatever. I was going to ask if you wanted to come to the Halloween Ball with me. I know it's like more than a month away, but I wanted to be the first to ask because you normally go with Malfoy and.."

Elena saw Orion enter the Great Hall in the corner of her eye, "Orion, good morning! I see you are a bit late. Come sit down."

"What's going on?" Orion looked at the nervous Charlus and a clearly fed up Elena.

"I was just about to tell him that I already have a date for the party," she turned around to face Charlus, "Thanks for asking."

"B-but today is the second day of school who could've asked you this early?"

"It is none of your business. Now leave me alone." He shot another sad look at her and walked away.

"Who are you going with? My brother again?" said Orion grabbing some food.

"No, I think I might just go by myself. Tell Abraxas to find someone else."

"Well, I will go on my own too. We can go together. I heard we will need masks. It will be amazing." she said excitedly.

"We'll see. We still have two months and there is a lot of homework to come. By the way, are you in the Slugclub this year?"

"Yes, I am. No need to ask you."

"That man sure has favourites. Anyways, I need to go. I have Transfiguration first period." Elena said as she stood up. "Can't be late with Dumbledore."

"Hurry! I'll meet you here for lunch!" Orion said as Elena left.

•❅────✧❅✦❅✧────❅•

"And that is what we'll focus on this year. I expect you all to hand in your homework until the end of this week." Dumbledore said as his last few words were buried in the chatter erupting from the class. "Elena, please stay for a bit after class. I need to talk to you."

"Yes, professor." Elena said gathering her things. She could feel Tom's eyes on her. Had he really told Dumbledore? She hadn't thought he'd actually do something like that.

When everyone had left Dumbledore closed the door, and turned to Elena with a grim expression on his face. "I heard about what happened at the orphanage." Elena held her breath as Dumbledore continued, "One of your friends informed me of what that man was going to do to you."

"May I ask who, sir?" Elena already knew the answer. Tom Riddle, of course it was him.

"It wouldn't be right of me to tell you. However, if you have any information regarding his death-"

"They said it was a heart attack," Elena said quickly. Dumbledore did not seem satisfied.

"That is the muggle explanation. I am not trying to accuse you of anything, any magic you could've used would be picked up by the Ministry. What I am asking is whether you interfered with the man's mind."

"You're asking if I caused the man to have a heart attack by altering his memories?" Elena was shocked. She wished she would've thought of that, then she wouldn't have to face the allegations of murder. "No, sir. I was very scared, I couldn't defend myself."

"Thank you for your honesty," Dumbledore opened the door. "If there is anything you need, don't hesitate to come to me."

"I will professor. Thank you."

Elena left the classroom fuming with anger. She hadn't thought Tom would make his first move this early, but it was her turn now. She needed to find his weakness, and to do that she would need to get close to him. Dumbledore trusted her, she needed to use it to her advantage. Tom had ruined her life once, she wouldn't let him do it again. The game was on.

•❅────✧❅✦❅✧────❅•

"Are you sure it was Riddle who accused you?" Orion asked. Elena hadn't told her the whole story. Her secrets were safest only in her own mind. Orion knew as much as Dumbledore did.

"Who else could it have been? He said he saw me that night, and at the orphanage..." Elena took a deep breath, "I heard someone's thoughts. I didn't know who. It was crowded, but they were thinking about the Ministry. It can only be one person."

"But why would he tell Dumbledore? It's not like he wants you to get expelled."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that."

Orion's expression changed to one of worry, "I think something's happening Elena."

"What do you mean?"

"I couldn't tell you yesterday because my brother was with us, but..."

"What?"

"He has been acting weirdly all summer. He wouldn't let me into his room and he hid his books away whenever he saw me. I know he has been sending letters to Riddle, but I could never get my hands on one."

Between Tom's book and Abraxas' behaviour, there surely was something they were hiding. Something she could use against Tom. "If you notice anything else, tell me."

Just as they were about to get up, owls flooded the Great Hall, dropping letters. Orion looked around for her owl but there was only one letter from the Malfoys. "It's for Abraxas, from my father. Normally we'd get one letter for the both of us."

"Open it," said Elena.

"Are you sure?" Elena nodded and Orion hesitantly ripped open the envelope. Her eyes skimmed the letter, then widened in surprise. "It's... about you."

"What?"

"My father says your parents were seen in America... with Grindelwald. Your mother reached out to him, to find you."

"That can't be right." It didn't make sense that after all these years her mother would try to find her.

"My father thinks so too. He wants Abraxas to keep me away from you. He says Grindelwald may come after you. That this all may be a plot to reach you." Orion put the letter down on the table. "What would Grindelwald want from you anyways?"

Elena couldn't breathe. It had been years since she hadn't thought about him. She thought she had left it all back in that cave. "I... have no idea."